'Shock' Croatia drawn against 'ranked 66th' Albania
FIFA's 10th-ranked Croatia conceded a late stoppage-time equalizer to 66th-ranked Albania in a shocking draw. With the 1-1 draw, Croatia's path to the Round of 16 is no longer secure.
Croatia conceded a five-minute stoppage time equalizer to settle for a 2-2 draw against Albania in the second leg of their UEFA Euro 2024 Group B match at the Volkssparkstadion in Hamburg, Germany, at 10:00 p.m. ET on Monday.
In the first leg, Croatia lost 0-3 to Spain and Albania suffered a 1-2 reverse to Italy. Two losses would mean elimination from the group. This was a must-win game for both teams.
A match in which Albania was rated as lacking in objective strength. Croatia had Luka Modric, Ivan Perisic, Marcelo Brozovic, and Josko Gvardiol in the lineup.
But it was Albania who took the early lead. In the 11th minute, Kazim Rashi headed home an early cross from the right side with his left foot in the box.
In the 30th minute, Albania had another chance to add to their lead on the counter-attack when an exquisite diagonal through ball into the box was deflected and deflected to the feet of Christian Aslani, who fired a low right-footed shot from the front of the box that was saved by Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic.
The first half was dominated by Albania. Albania had eight shots and three on target in the first half, compared to five shots and one on target for Croatia, who never really found their groove.
Barring a big second-half turnaround, Croatia could face an early exit with two losses. At the start of the second half, the hosts made 바카라 a midfield change, taking off Lobro Mayer and Brozovic and bringing on Mario Pasalić and Luka Suic.
This didn't change the tide of the game, and in the 27th minute, Albania had a great counterattack opportunity, but squandered it with a weak mid-range shot. Talk about an opportunity after a crisis. Croatia equalized in the 29th minute after their opponent's missed chance, when Andrej Kramaric collected a pass in the box and finished with a low right-footed shot.
But that wasn't all. With momentum on their side, Croatia scored a second goal in the 31st minute when Ante Budimir played a cutback pass from the left side of the box to Luka Suic, whose shot was blocked by the defense, but found its way through the legs of Klaus Zasula for an own goal. Croatia's comeback was a lie. Two goals in three minutes turned a 0-1 deficit into a 2-1 lead for Croatia.
Albania then went on the offensive, but the Croatian defense somehow managed to keep them at bay.
But with six minutes of stoppage time and one minute to go, Albania scored a miraculous equalizer with a low cross from the left side of the box that Zasula finished with a low left-footed shot from just inside the box. Zasula's own goal was the difference maker.
In the end, the game ended in a 2-2 draw. For Croatia, the draw with Albania, the weakest team in Group B, puts them in the worst possible position, needing a win against Italy in the third round to have any hope of qualifying for the round of 16.